#he's one of my characters that really doesn't change much regardless of AU

[forta-ver]

I'm listening to the playlist I made for Rick back in 20....14? 2015??

Nostalgia for Distortion. Nostalgia for Hype y2. Nostalgia for all the pokemon AUs he exists in and his ill-fated nuzlocke runs.

Nostalgia.

[hiraya-rawr]

I love you in every universe (Playable AU)

(Diluc x Playable Reader)

note 1 !! unorganized brainrot + short fic for my SAGAU(?) playable reader AU... a star crossed lovers concept.

note 2 !! I am the Player 😌 SLEEP DEPRIVED WORK PLS IM WRITING WHILE HALF DEAD

synopsis !! in which you're a playable character and you fall for another world's Diluc as your Player co-ops with a Diluc-main.

navigation

Imagine being in love with Diluc for as long as you can remember. Unfortunately for you, your Player doesn't have – or seem to want – Diluc at all.

It's not that you're that desperate to have him on the team, your usual company of four was enough! But can you really blame yourself for wanting to travel the entirety of Teyvat, uncovering mysteries and facing dangers with him? You can't help it if he's the first person you think of on a cold night! An adventure would've been a great reason to get closer to him, form a bond, fall in love– at the very least, you just want to spent time with him.

Regardless, you've given up on ever adventuring with Diluc. It's not a guarantee that you'd always stay on the team, nor are you hopeful to be on the same party as him with all the different team comps and characters showing up.

So imagine your surprise when you find yourself face to face with Diluc one day.

[Hira is trying to enter your world.]

You notice a label next to your name.

P1 Y/N , it says. Klee, who was excitedly looking at the fish of Watatsumi's streams, tilts her head in wonder as your two other companions glitch away, only to be replaced by a different pair.

"It's the grumpy adult!" Klee squeaks, half in excitement and half in shock, "And big sister Barbara!"

"Hello Klee!" Barbara waves at the little girl. Diluc raises an eyebrow, slightly confused by the nickname before coughing into his hand. He faces you with a neutral expression. Your breath hitches in your throat.

""Hi, you must be Player 1 (Y/N) and Klee. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Diluc in Watatsumi Island looked a little out of place, a complete change from the usual Tavern and Winery you usually see him in, yet there he was – bright red hair and dark garbs contrasting the pastel backdrop.

"Ah y-yes! And you must be Player 2 Diluc and Barbara. It's nice to meet you as well." You offer your hand out to shake his, a firm grip that's warm and steady. Up close, he looks everything like the Diluc you knew from your world. The one you could only watch from afar or chat with as your bartender.

'That's because he is Diluc, you idiot' you berate.

"Hello! We look forward to working with you two," Barbara chirps next to Diluc, a wide smile on her face, "Oh especially you! Our Player doesn't actually have a (Y/N) yet, so we've never got to see what you could do."

Ah, pressure. The pressure to impress your crush.

You laugh nervously, trying to brush it off that you're simply a sub-DPS. Maybe even a support, with your Player not fully building you to your potential yet.

"It's alright, we don't need to exert ourselves too much. It seems like we're only doing commissions today anyway so. . ." Diluc offers you a small smile. The type he'd usually give in galas for the sake of being courteous, "I look forward to working with you."

What you all initially thought was a chance meeting turned into many more meetings. Your Player was religiously doing their commissions with this same person, making you meet Diluc (along with other members of his team) a lot more than you thought.

And with that came your dream of adventuring with him. From going deep into the Chasm and solving puzzles in Enkanomiya, to simple daily tasks like delivering food, your silly crush started to develop into something more legitimate.

And after nights of enjoying each others company, star-gazing, fighting bosses, and going on death-defying adventures— he falls for you.

Another world's Diluc Ragnvindr falls in love with you all the while you're desperately seeking to be something more with your own world's Diluc.

Neither of you wanted to admit to your feelings at first, there's always a sort of taboo in interacting with someone outside your world. To the Playables to Teyvat, it's an unspoken rule to keep a professional, almost business-like relationship with outworlders. After all, who needs a "replica" when you have your own "original" in your world?

Except, you can't exactly find comfort in that when your Diluc barely sees anything more than an acquaintance in you.

Imagine spending days, weeks with 2P Diluc. He's charming, lovable, treats you oh-so-preciously. He tells you about his hopes, his father, his troubles, and you tell him about yours.

He kisses you under starry nights, wraps one arm around you and gazes into your eyes before waiting for the co-op to end for the day.

When it does, you head back to Mondstadt, to the taverns, to the bar, and to see your Diluc nod at you in acknowledgment as you take your seat.

In a way, it's almost heartbreaking. Perhaps if he were given the same opportunity to travel with you, perhaps if you confessed now or hinted at it, he would be more aware of you?

But the thought of telling him "You'll love me if you just give me a chance" reeks of desperation.

"You know. . . The Player has been co-oping Klee and I with a Diluc-main lately." You casually say, tipping your drink of choice side to side as you lean over the bar.

"Oh? How was it?" Diluc preps at the espresso machine, his back turned away from you.

"Well, you certainly suit a DPS role. And commissions get done far faster than usual," only because you and Diluc wanted to spend more time traveling and doing story quests, but you don't need to mention that.

"That's good. I'm glad to hear my. . . ahem, counterpart has been helpful." He turns to you, sliding you a glass of water. You bite your lip nervously.

"We get along well, you know?" You start, eyes looking down on the bar top, "2P Diluc, I mean. I've learned a little bit more about you through him." Like how your hair's a bird's nest every morning, or your soft spot for children and fat dogs.

Diluc seems to nod at you thoughtfully, "Is that so. . . well, I suppose adventures do form that kind of bond." He chuckles, "That's nice to know."

"It would be great if we could adventure as well," You laugh into your hand, looking up at him. He raises an eyebrow, a small smile on his face as he shakes his head no.

"One Diluc is enough. I don't think I'm needed as a Playable, but do enjoy your travels."

Ah. Shot missed.

note 3 !! plot twist is DPS Barbara. and I honestly think Diluc and Barbara would get along so well in a team?? I have them together sometimes and they just both have goody two shoes vibes so they'd work well on an adventure

[darlingpwease]

Luo Bingge: The way you look at me, the only memory is just us kissing in the moonlight~

Reader: WHAT THE FUCK WHO ARE YOU!

(I just wanted to respond to your genius au where Bingge finds us in the real world and we are basically the exact same copy of them)

<333 hehehe~ so accurate,,,

can't remember to forget you

I love very much, very much you

♡ pet names, unhealthy behaviour (non-consensual touching), forced relationship (not really relationship) if you squint, mention of violence + death (in past); bingge is my little pathetic woof woof who has done nothing wrong in his life, bingge sleeps with everyone who reminds him of you regardless of gender to match the settings

LUO BINGHE was at a loss.

"Character in a novel"? "Proud Immortal Demon Way?"

"Follow the instructions of the system"?

When he was moved to an incomprehensible room, something in between a peasant's hut and a townsman's house, LUO BINGHE could only look around through translucent floating jade tiles with words drawn on them, the meaning of which he could not really understand, even if he understood these words individually as well as their meaning, and already wanted to irritably sweep everything away this is aside — when gaze caught on a painfully familiar face.

He would have remembered these features even in death.

Instincts reacts much faster than mind, immediately reaching the body lying on the bed with a couple of steps — and putting his hands on the sides of their head, hanging with an incomprehensible white noise in ears, when all the blood in his body was boiling from just one sight, makes his throat dry up.

The system buzzes something in ear, but LUO BINGHE is unable to think or react when he sees a familiar face, serene and sleeping, but the same as before he was forced to survive, clinging to the remnants of strength and life only for the sake of one single thing, for the sake of one single person.

Your face.

Just as magnificent and breath-taking as many, many years ago — even when he himself was a disciple, your shidi, and looked up at you, really resembling a small animal that repeats after a wiser one — certainly not an 'animal'.

Rather, it was like he was turning from a beast into a Human Being, indulging in your restrained affection and supervision so that he would not have qi deviation or other problems, finally getting someone over the years who cares about him, sincerely pampering and letting him know that he is not came into this world for nothing.

Everything just snapped in an instant. Your life has been cut short just as a burning stick of incense is extinguished with a finger.

And he was not there at the most terrible moment of your life, although he swore that he would always be with you, would save and help.

How funny.

Plan to confess his love after he brings the first place to your feet like an obedient pet, only to return to your empty grave. You would never forgive him — never — but did it make sense if you now can't scold him or praise him? Did it make sense that the world was killing the people most dear to him over and over again? Does it make sense that even you left him after all?

Does it make sense that it wasn't even demons who killed you, but other cultivators?

You would tell him that it has. That this is a test. That his hatred wouldn't change anything. That revenge brings bliss to the heart, but poisons the soul. That his demonic blood doesn't make him a demon and who he is is the result of a choice. That a good and decent cultivator should not have a huge harem just to fill the void in his soul. That sex is not the only way to feel needed. That he doesn't need power to be loved. That he is loved simply because he is. That he doesn't need to imagine you every time he tries to find the same warmth in the soft tender bodies of rare beauties. That he does not need to look for the companies of beautiful young men and maidens just to find at least somewhere the same delight that he experienced even when you scolded him.

He just wanted to be a 'good boy' for you, — whom you can love, kiss, take with you, treat with treats, let him take care of you, — why did everything turn out this way?

His fingers are smooth, soft — the same as he had when he was still a disciple — and when they touch your cheek, your eyelashes tremble, as if echoing soft strokes, while he puts other hand on your other cheek with intoxicating delight, feeling the warm gentle air on his skin, — and trembling, sitting on the edge next to you, continuing to ignore the chirping which soon falls silent, as if realizing that LUO BINGHE is unable to react right now.

Everything inside him burns and melts like hot metal.

Is that you? Is it really you? Senior fellow disciple?

Does the senior fellow disciple still think this Binghe is handsome? Does the senior fellow disciple still love this Binghe? Will the senior fellow disciple be proud of how strong and powerful this Binghe has become, or will scold for what he did?

Perhaps he is now no better than an animal thrown out on the street, who has found a way to a cozy and warm house, but even when it's hard for him to breathe so as not to cry, he just continues to look at the facial features that bring him pain and pleasure at the same time, like an old wound that is being opened up to blood, while he don't mind. If he had a tail, he would wag it so much that he would wake you up, but you sleep so serenely, as if you don't notice his presence, — although it is, you couldn't notice his presence, — and LUO BINGHE needs all the willpower not to cling tightly to you and never let go of his embrace, crying about how painful it was for him without you and that you can no longer leave him, never, or he will follow you — no matter to hell or heaven, to another world or beyond life, you can no longer go where he cannot follow.

Breath. Exhale.

Breath.

Exhale.

He is no longer that intemperate and stupid shidi, who could only smile sweetly, baring his fangs to anyone who wanted to touch his, and could only try to physically take care of you and be pretty and obedient, thinking that this way you will not leave him and will always keep him close as a cute and good boytoy. LUO BINGHE — now — knows what it's like to be without you after you've given him a taste of this feeling of love and care. That true love must be won with passion and body; that it must be protected with claws and fangs; that the whole world is against anyone being able to love him.

That if he wants to be loved, then he should make you look only at him.

And he will make you look only at him.

Everything about you is the same — from the smell of your hair to the reaction, you are exactly the same. That's you, isn't it?

Love of his life.

It can only be you.

When your eyes open slightly, reacting to his touch and proximity, LUO BINGHE does not try to hide an intoxicated enthusiastic smile, even if there is nothing in your eyes but horror and misunderstanding.

“Hello, my love... Did I wake you up? I'm so sorry; I'll help you warm up and fall asleep~”

The character Luo Binghe from the novel 'Proud Immortal Demon Way' will be able to continue living in this world or return to his own world after achieving the main goal.

Do you accept the terms?

Yes.

“It's not like you can run away from me now, after all~”

[chaifootsteps]

There are a plethora of issues regarding Vivziepop's writing, but the one that really stands out to me is her lack of themes. She has ideas, occasionally she has something to say, but she has no themes.

If you don't mind my ramblings; I have been considering an AU that is effectively divorced from the series, focusing entirely on the characters Blitzo, Barbie, and Fizzarolli. In brainstorming the story, I have been able to streamline the narrative to 3 core themes.

Masculinity, Control/Power, and Belonging.

Everything in the story is connected to one or more of these themes in regards to the characters and their motivations. Even side characters are wholly infused with these three concepts.

In my AU, FizzaRolli is not a performer, but a stray child with a group of other feral children Lord of the Flies. Blitz is the son of a circus owner who craves his father's approval even as he resents him. Barbie is an up and coming starlet brutally managed by her father who effectively curates her sense of identity as she creeps closer to the spotlight.

Much of Blitzo's story focuses on a young man coming into his own in a world that runs on toxic masculinity, balanced out by the guidance and love of his sickly mother whom he cares for. He's a young adult figuring out himself in a world and community who keeps telling him what he should be. Sub Themes of responsibility, respect, strength and the abuse of power are key cornerstones of his story.

Meanwhile FizzaRolli is the foil of Blitz's story. An orphan without parental guidance living out his coming of age in a Teenage Wasteland. Additionally, Fizz is gay, meaning his queerness colors over the themes in a fundamental way. Being in a Teenage Wasteland, Fizz is effectively in the closet because of how queerness can change others perception of him. And weakness often is associated with queerness, which has no place in a micro-society that elevates this toxic, Fight Club-esque concept of masculinity and belonging. Fizz seems to belong, carve out a space for himself in his community, but struggles come into himself. Especially because underneath it all is a severely traumatized child who never got to be a kid long enough to learn how to be a man.

And from the far other side, Barbie's relationship to these themes comes from the viewpoint of living under the patriarchy as a young woman. How girls are raised to cater to the needs of men, treated as glorified children unless they "prove" themselves over things that many men are merely handed. Her father prioritized her career above and beyond her as a person. While that isn't a trait inherently based in sexism, how he curates her life and downplays her desires and intelligence is rooted mainly in her being his daughter and thus not expected to "step out" into her own like her twin. Leaving her feeling impotent, infantalized and resentful even as she is held on a pedestal.

Control over one's self, perception, and direction.

How masculinity fosters respect and responsibility for young boys while simultaneously threatening punishment for not meeting or stepping outside of certain expectations. Especially the competitive aggression and emotional warfare in toxic masculinity

And a sense of belonging, be it in a community or an identity.

Themes help maintain a cohesion to a story, helps the characters feel interconnected and the world lived in regardless of how much emphasis is placed outside the main cast. It also helps ground the ideas of characters in an abstract way that doesn't place pressure to "prove" to the audience a character does fit the traits you as an author see in them. Most of all, it better enabled the author to pivot viewpoints and easily switch between characters so that they feel individual and not that there is a singular "voice" speaking behind them. It creates a unique soul rather than an empty skin suit for the author to don.

Sorry for the long rant.

No worries, Anon. Thanks for the ramble, it was an interesting read!

[flamedraco]

c!Wilbur Redesign

This is my compromise to the current situation regarding Shubble and the speculation surrounding Wilbur. This is coming from a fanfiction writer who has always, and always will, see the CCs as nothing more than voice actors for their characters. Buckle in, this is going to be a long one. But please read all the way through. If you don't know, recently Shubble came forward with a video about how she was in an abusive relationship. And she dropped some hints because she wants people to speculate about who it is. Wants to make sure that a person with bad intentions can't get away with more bad things. A lot of people are speculating that, due to said hints and previously established crush that he had on her, Wilbur is the person who abused her. Now personally? I do not believe this. It's hard for me to believe that Wilbur would do something like that. I don't like the idea of hopping on the hate train or immediately jumping to cancel someone. So I will be waiting for real facts and confirmation before saying anything regarding the CC. A lot of the speculation doesn't make sense to me logically and I also never got the chance to see the video before it was deleted. This is not me calling Shubble a liar. I 100% believe her and my heart goes out to her completely. She doesn't deserve being treated horribly, nobody does. The situation I'm hearing she went through is a wretched thing and I will not TOLERATE people insulting her or saying that she should just say who it was. That shit is not okay and never will be okay. HOWEVER! I will NOT stop writing Wilbur's character. A little fact about me is that when I came into this fandom, it wasn't because I watched the CCs. It wasn't because I was interested in MCYT. The reason I came here was because a very close friend of mine asked me to cowrite a fic with them. At the time the only fandom we really shared even vaguely was DSMP. I knew very little about it but I knew some things. I let my friend choose the ship. They chose TNT Duo. And it's thanks to that friend that I wrote Arsonist's Waltz. That I started to adore Quackbur and wrote my most well known fic, You Were Never Meant to be a Hero. And thanks to YWNMTBAH I made so many cherished friends. It's all because of these two little characters that still have me in a chokehold even though I've been writing them for quite some time now. And that's why I can't simply let go of Wilbur's character. But regardless of my ability to separate the Cs from the CCs, for some people that distinction is harder. The CCs to me are just glorified voice actors. For other people it's harder. They can separate the characters from the content creators just fine, but this situation hits them close to home. And it hurts. So, this is my proposed solution, brought to my attention by a friend who was heavily affected by this situation, but loved the work she was doing and didn't want to have to let it go. C!Wilbur doesn't have an actual canon design. When you think about it, the only thing we have to go off of is his Minecraft skin. Something that, when you think about it, doesn't tell us much about the character at all. There is no canon design because most of what we see as "canon" is based on the CC, not the character himself. When you look at c!Wilbur, the skin, does he have an eye color? Do we know his height? What about his hair length? His build? What do we actually know about this character outside of the clothing on his back and the personality his actor gave him? And when you make an AU everything changes. From now on? My c!Wilbur design that I'll use as a baseline for most of my fics is a 6ft man with heterochromia. One eye blue, the other teal. He's going to have brown curly hair that dips just below his shoulders and a light scar over one of his eyes. Sometimes he'll have freckles because what the fuck can we tell from a Minecraft skin anyways? He wears black nail polish because why not? Slay.

I already treated him and c!Quackity like glorified OCs already. Why not further OC the glorified OCs? So what if they aren't a faithful adaptation? How can anyone say what is and isn't "faithful" when we're talking about BLOCK MEN. Make them eldritch. Make them supernatural. Make them whatever kind of hybrid you want them to be! I'll die on my Magpie!Wilbur and Shrike!Quackity hill! Give them different eye colors and let them dye their hair sometimes, I'm going to make the white streak PINK because TWINS DUO and CHERRY BLOSSOM TRIPLETS! Give your Phantom!Wilburs green eyes and glowing blood! Give your Shapeshifter!Wilburs more hair and eye colors! Do what you want because the character has no actual canon design. Go wild with your AUs and remember that you're doing this for fun. For your enjoyment. Don't conform to what someone else wants from you just because your adaption, your interpretation, "isn't the real Wilbur". The characters are what we make them. Because the reality of the situation? They are literally just blocks in a cube game. There is no canon design. Don't let the actions of some asshole ruin what you love.

[durudurururu]

Linked Universe Vtubers Au

So I like Linked Universe. I also like Vtubers. The result? LU vtuber AU! This has refused to leave my brain ever since it came up and now you shall live with this too!

It's a basic modern AU but everyone is a Vtubers instead of any normal job they could have. Their Vtuber lore is the same the actual chars, but their Irl counterparts are different. I'll talk about the agency the characters are in later, so have some fact about them!!

The chain

Sky

Married to Sun.

30yrs (may change)

The one's who's been a Vtuber the longest.

Was a pilot before becoming a vtuber due to his wife thinking he would like it.

Was indie before being recruited by the agency (Was called Crimson).

Time

Oldest in the Chain

46yrs

Was still raised in the forest, but not by a tree

Has a teenage daughter named Navi (had her at 31, she's now 15yrs)

Learnt her to speak Kokiri.

Married to Malon

Only have a few cuckoos and some horses instead of a whole ranch.

Warriors

Only became a Vtuber since his wife and daughter likes them and he wouldn't mind some extra income.

Has a toggle in his model to turn into the Fierce Deity.

In a April fool'd stream he has a 3D model of Time as a kid which he used the whole day.

25yrs.

Twins with Linkle and lives with her in an apartment in Castle Town.

Used to live out in the country but moved away since he doesn't have the best relationship with his dad.

Hides his accent, uses a quite posh one.

Worked full time at a make up store in the morning and did night security shifts at 3 times a week before becoming a Vtuber.

Quit because it was making his health way worse and he had more wiggle room when Linkle moved in as she (supringly) also had a job.

Became a Vtuber due to the extra wiggle room. Wanted to be one since they helped him through some tough times.

Wind and Arryl (his cousins) visit him on occasion, and he loves them.

Wind found out his Vtuber identity immideatly, but is not a snitch.

Dating Arthemtis.

Crazy ex Cia that he still had traumas from.

Wild

24yrs

Married to Flora

Used to date Mipha before the accident.

She lived in another country and though she wanted to give him her support, she often couldn't, and since so much about him changed with the memory loss, she sadly had to cut her losses and break up, even if Wild technically didn't know it at the time.

Still looses his memories, but now because of a car crash. His parents died in it and though his sister survived, she didn't go in a coma but went to an unknown relative. Happened when he was 19, awoke when he was 20.

Wheelchair bound but can technically walk and stand, just not good.

Does his best to hide the fact that he's disabled.

His model does not have any scars because of this as he wants it to be perfect, unlike himself (yes, he is in therapy, because who thinks he isn't perfect?)

Became a Vtuber as it was difficult to find jobs he could do whilst wheelchair bound that doesn't pay like shit or force him to move away for college. He also really liked them regardless.

Four

Trans (FtM). Had surgery before the accident and didn't know until he was 21.

Most popular of the chain.

4 streamers in one channel.

Green, Blue, Vio, and Red

Blacksmiths, but has some extra jobs as it doesn't pay too well.

Quadruplets.

20yrs.

Became Vtubers because of Shadow and since they wanted the extra money.

All their desks (+Shadow's) are right next to each other.

Both streams alone and with each other. Rarely all 4 unless it's a special occasion.

Has a model that all four can control at once. Yes, it absolute chaos.

Their individual models are just coloured differently than that one ^^, otherwise looks the same.

Streams at least 4 times a week, one day for each of them.

Green

Dating Dot.

Works part time at a café

Helps with planning their streams and any collabs that their manager doesn't do for them.

Blue

Works at an animal shelter when he's free.

Has almost ruined his set up too many times to count due to gamer rage.

Vio

Non binary (they/them).

Dating Shadow, but hiding it...kind of. They're playing up their relationships for jokes and the community ships them to all hell.

Has a Shadow body pillow that doesn't exist Irl (yet) that their model sometimes holds during streams.

A bit goth.

Works at a library.

Red

Aromantic and Asexual!

Calls his fans his Rubies.

Everyone—including the rest of the chain—will protect him with their life.

Works at a a cat café. It is a different café than Green, and he hides that he's jealous about being able to work there.

Hyrule

Lives in the middle of nowhere and does not know where anything is.

Somehow lives off of hunting (don't worry, he has a license) and the instant noodles etc he buys from the store that's very close to the middle of fuck who knows where.

Somehow still used Internet Explorer when he started. Did not know what Firefox was until Legend explained it to him.

Refused to use Chrome as he didn't know how to change his browser.

Still shocked at being a functioning Vtuber.

Became one because money was getting tight and since he grew up in a village in the middle of fuck who knows where, didn't have too many good jobs he could have.

Legend

24yrs.

Married to Ravio.

Still refuses to wear pants.

Puts even more of a tsundere act when on camera.

Has quite a posh accent but hides it and uses one that's actually normal.

Twins with Fable

Twillight

25yrs.

Dated Midna, but she suddenly broke up with him and he's still slightly heart broken.

Time's (technically Malon's) nephew.

Got a country accent.

Sadly had to move out of Odinia because of college. Now works part time at a veterenarions clinic.

Became a Vtuber because it sounded fun even though he wasn't the biggest fan of it at the time.

On his debut stream he found a toggle to turn his model into a wolf and Legend send a donation just to call him a furry.

Wind

15yrs/18yrs

Doesn't join the agency until he's 18, and he's 15 for most of the stories that I have planned. This may change.

Warriors' cousin. Often visits because his Grandma can't take care of them every day, especially Aryll.

Slowly starts to join streams even though Warriors is very reluctant. Warriors' fans love him.

About the agency and some lore:

The agency is called Fates and their theme is good vs evil. Their first wave was called Inception and had four members: First, Fi, Hylia, and Demise.

They were suprisingly successful, but after 1 year, Demise took a break because of some bad rumours about him started to spread, and not long after, First graduated due to personal issues.

Fates was already in the progress of adding more members, and eventually the new wave by the name of Clouds came out, having 2 new members: Sky—a former indie Vtuber by the name of Crimson—and Ghirahim, who was also an indie before joining the company.

Everything went great, Demise coming back to streaming...but then the rumours came back, and they found out that they weren't just rumours. Demise was quickly terminated as he had been harrasing fans on an alt account, then Ghirahim got terminated as he had been meeting with his fans Irl and given them special bonuses, which even went for outside of his streams.

As a way to save their image, Fates let out a new wave by the name of Destruction shortly after, having 3 members: Vaati, Dark, and Shadow.

Both Sky and the members of Destruction got a fair amount of hate, mostly from people saying that the company is simply trying to replace First and Demise with cheap knock offs.

Fates has open Vtuber auditions for the first time since the agency started, and recruit 7 people that joins a wave called The Chain: Time, Wild, Legend, Hyrule, Twillight, Warriors, Four.

Later they would open auditions again, and have a new wave by the name of Mortality with 4 members: Impa, Calamity, Majora, and Ganondorf.

Other important characters:

First

Most popular member when he was still streaming

Hand picked Sky as his succesor

Fi

Though she technically didn't graduate, rarely streams any more. Now is a higher up in the company.

Helped Sky find his footing at the start.

Sometimes holds Vtuber game shows with Shadow

Hylia/Zelda

The most popular streamer in the agency.

Often has collabs with Indie Vtubers and Impa.

The best at the game show Shadow hosts.

Was re-named to Zelda because of continued harrasment for sharing a name with the goddess.

Has been a Vtuber for (at least) 3yrs.

Vaati

Graduated after 2 years due to the continued hate.

Still talks with Shadow and Dark.

20yrs when he graduated.

Shadow

21yrs.

Lives with the Four gremblins and is dating Vio.

They are way too gay for each my Lord.

From Lolrule.

Darker skinned.

Used to work at the same library as Vio. Only there because no other place would accept him.

Was with the bad boys in High school, is getting better now.

Likes holding game shows for other Vtubers.

Dark

23yrs.

From Lolrule.

Darker skinned.

Quite shy but doesn't show it much.

Can be very childish.

Dyselxic. Why? Because I say so.

People always said he was a teaser for another Vtuber, which was technically true, but he still didn't like hearing it.

[tigerlyla-of-metinna]

Why the world and Nilfgaard can't be changed by someone else not Cirilla? She might be one of the main character for the Saga but not the main character for Nilfgaard (and even being Emhyr's biological daughter doesn't make her "familar" to nilfgaardians.) There are other characters to save the world and especially Ceas'raet.

Yo!

I knew I'd get something in my inbox after re-blogging my old opinion piece about the Empress Ending.

Let's answer this one sentence at a time.

Why the world and Nilfgaard can't be changed by someone else not Cirilla?

Nothing in my re-blog states that it is only Ciri who can change the world and Nilfgaard. Anyone with a goal and determination to change the world for the better (or worse) can. But in the games' Empress Ending, Ciri decided if she wants to do this, she must do it from there: in Nilfgaard. By finally accepting her birthright as Emhyr's heir apparent.

She might be one of the main character for the Saga but not the main character for Nilfgaard (and even being Emhyr's biological daughter doesn't make her "familar" to nilfgaardians.)

She is a "main character" for Nilfgaard because she is an Emreis, the direct bloodline, Emhyr's firstborn and only child. And in the ancient monarchies, kingdoms are passed down from parent to child. In the absence of a direct lineage, there is the heir presumptive (Morvy-bebe!). Morvran may not have seen Cirilla in person but he, and perhaps the inner circle and those close to Emhyr knows Ciri is Emhyr's daughter and successor, and in Morvran's own words, "ceding the throne to Cirilla is the best the emperor can do". There is your "familiar to nilfgaardians", at least to those who really matter.

There are other characters to save the world and especially Ceas'raet.

Definitely, there are others who can take up the mantle of emperor/ empress. We all know Morvran becomes one regardless if he is married to Ciri or not, the Jan Calveit succeeds him. But this is the Empress ending, and in that ending- as much as you dislike it- Ciri becomes the new ruler and will use the coffers and her power to change the world for the better.

Then there are the Alternate Universes, thank god for fan fiction. We can create AU's where some sympathizers of the late Stefan Skellen picks up his cause and turns the empire into a democracy. Radovid or Djikstra finally has the numbers and resources to stage an invasion and assimilate the empire into one big Northern Realms.

AU's of original characters who has the support of the masses and overthrows the current regime... Just about anything! Anything is possible with fan fiction!

Personally, I like the AU where Morvran is actually Morvranne and becomes the Empress of Nilfgaard 👑👑👑.

[rararazaquato]

Valentine, you're a

horse

(rain code pony au. design notes under the cut!)

just as a note, i haven't seen my little pony since i was like. 11. and also i don't think i watched beyond twilight becoming an alicorn. my knowledge of later seasons mostly comes from horsecomix. so if i say anything that contradicts the Horse Lore, sorry about that.

ok now for individual designs.

yuma is a unicorn, mostly because mystery labyrinths require him to be able to hold a sword and talk at the same time. in addition to his memories, he lost his cutie mark in the pact, so everyone who sees him is like "damn you're an amnesiac AND a blank flank? pick a struggle". he doesn't have any accessories by default, but he probably gets a little hat in the rain + his cape in the mystery labyrinth. he was the first pony i drew, so his face looks a little janky. i struggled with drawing the ponies from any angle other than a perfect sideview, and the snouts/mouths were the hardest parts by far. the front view i did for yuma was a bit easier than the 3/4 view i did for most of the cast, but it was still tougher than i expected. pony artists who mimic the style of the show have all of my respect.

shinigami's spirit form was changed a little bit, although it was already so abstracted compared to a real human that i didn't feel i needed to change much in order to make her fit into the pony universe. i just swapped her horns out for wings and gave her a horn. i also removed her thumbs and made her colors closer to her human (er, pony) form. she's no longer a "death god" in the traditional sense, now being the "princess of death" in the same way twilight is the princess of friendship or cadence is the princess of love. she was sealed away because she was shit at her job (just killed a fuckton of people for no reason) but anypony who stumbled across the book she was sealed in can make a contract w her just like in rain code canon. obvi this is a little dark for the actual mlp universe, they wouldn't be putting a trigger-happy murder princess in their rated y cartoon, but this is the same fanbase that made fuckin. cupcakes and rainbow factory and a whole slew of others that make the main characters of mlp infinitely more fucked up than canon shinigami ever was. so i feel like we can have a little suspension of disbelief here.

shinigami's true form is an alicorn, obvi. she's a god princess, she's gonna be an alicorn. i tried to refrain from giving the characters too many accessories to better mimic the simpler mane 6 designs, but shinigami looked so naked with just the crown. so she also got her flower and little necklace. i didn't even attempt to put her hair in braids, since drawing her face at that angle was such a challenge already. upon posting this, i also realize i forgot to give her a tail. just imagine any tail you want on her. pin the tail on the shinigami. her cutie mark has the same dark void effect as nightmare moon's, although i can't remember if luna also has it as well. regardless, it's a visual tie-in to nightmare moon, who has a similar "princess banished to an inanimate object" thing going on. the actual cutie mark itself is two bones, representing death in a cutesy cartoony fashion. i was gonna do a skull and crossbones but then i realized. no one knows what a human skull looks like. there's no people. and i am NOT about to draw a fucking horse skull. so, bones it is.

yakou is probably the one i'm proudest of! i feel like i really captured the essence of the background pony in him. i feel like i could see him hanging out with lyra heartstrings and dr. whooves and i wouldn't bat an eyelash. his hair is a little longer than in the original design but i think it looks cute so it's fine. his cutie mark is an umbrella because his calling as a detective leads him to protect others like an umbrella protects you from the rain, plus kanai ward has its whole Thing. and he can be kind of a gloomy person at times, very pessimistic. he's an earth pony because he's just a normal guy, no forte in canon and stuff like that.

makoto was probably the trickiest to actually design. the element of mystery is super important in the original character design, but he was able to still have some skin exposed since almost all of the character designs in that game have a skintone of "homestuck white". in mlp, where coat colors can be any color of the rainbow (and the colors outside of the rainbow), makoto would lose that element of mystery. so, while i generally try to avoid putting the ponies in clothes, makoto kind of needed them. he's got his full suit and a set of gloves and white shoes for his hooves. instead of being a sort of "paper plate" mask, he's got a rubber halloween mask that extends past his neck instead. don't ask how the mane comes out of the mask. we don't ask how canon makoto's mask stays on with no straps, so don't ask about this one. the mask goes over his horn, so it blocks out most powerful magic, but basic spells like levitation are still possible with a bit of effort. the pants of his suit hide his cutie mark, and when asked about what it is, he gives a different answer each time.

kurumi isn't a super complicated or in-depth design. just a cute lil earth pony with a cutie mark of a speech bubble, since she does a lot of information gathering via talking to others. in hindsight, i should've given her freckles in the same color as her body outline. imagine she has freckles please. thank you.

fubuki is the design where i actually got the courage to attempt a braid. no idea if it looks good, i didn't use a reference and my hair is too short to braid it myself. i wanted an earth pony in the core group of nda members, and i was sort of torn between her and desuhiko. however, i'm a personal believer in the "all ponies can use magic on some level" theory, and that theory posits that earth ponies have a tendency to be able to use the intrinsic magic of their planet in subtle ways. applejack can enhance her physical strength without really doing anything consciously, and most importantly, pinkie pie can bend the laws of reality for The Bit. i think time travel is kinda like bending the laws of reality for The Bit. plus, desuhiko's disguise ability is kinda like an illusion, which feels like more of a unicorn ability. her cutie mark is a clock. because. uh. you know.

desuhiko is a unicorn for reasons i mentioned in fubuki's notes. his backpack is worn like a saddle, but he can still use it to disguise himself like in rain code canon. his cutie mark is the bag with a star on it, hinting that there's a superstar (him) in the bag. not much to say about him other than that.

vivia is a pegasus. since his forte allows him to fly, it makes sense for him to be able to fly in his base form as well - he'd get used to the flight powers inherent to his ability a lot quicker if he could already do it. he's definitely more of a fluttershy than a rainbow dash in terms of how he uses his ability to fly. he prefers to walk, but if his legs get tired, he'll switch to flying for a little bit. but then both his legs and his wings get tired and he takes a little nap. that's what the pose is meant to be, altho it does look a bit like he's flying. his cutie mark is a disappearing flash shape, as his spirit form is invisible and he tends to disappear into the background in general. someone in the rain coat server told me he looks like stoney pony and i haven't been able to get that out of my mind.

halara was the last pony i drew, because i love them and wanted to get as much pony-drawing experience as i could before turning them into an equine. can't have my pookie bear looking like shit! they are also a pegasus, but not for forte reasons like vivia. rather, they just do impressive feats of athleticism on the reg, and i feel like they would be a great flyer as a result. imagine the scene where yuma calls for help while being detained by seth and the peacekeepers. a blue and purple bursts onto the scene from the fucking clouds and halara is divebombing the peacekeepers. that'd be sick as fuck. their cutie mark is an eye, because postcognition is all about sight.

erm ok thats everyone!!! i'm bad at pony names so if anyone has any ideas leave them in the comments or the tags ☺️

[illmetkismet]

Hihihi!!!!! I Hope You don’t mind yet another ask from me!!!!!!! I’ve already said this before but I absolutely adore the way you answer questions and analyse stuff, it’s such a breath of fresh air to see!!!! This is totally self-indulgent so I hope you don’t mind me asking, but do you have any personal headcannons/analysis thoughts on Luis perhaps??? It feels strange to admit but he’s a very big special interest of mine so I just wanted an excuse to hear somebody else’s thoughts on him!! I hope You’re having a good day regardless!!!!

Always happy to see an ask from you, and don't even start with the strangeness or self-indulgence of being really into or asking about Luis; just yesterday I was wondering whether I should wait for spring to get a splish splash fish ankle tattoo or just do it now and deal with an itchy ankle in my winter boots lol...

So yeah, Luis is my love my turtledove the light of my life and I would LOVE the chance to talk about him!!! He was one half of why I got into resi in the first place (serennedy had me like 'hmmmm maybe horror games are not too scary for me if they have cuties in them....'), and every time I think about him my brain does that thing where you put your head in your hands and sigh while cartoon hearts float up above you...

He's just..... So good.... And despite that, he's made SUCH shitty choices. I love how painful that is for him, but that he's got enough self awareness to understand when he fucks up. He doesn't try to blame anyone else - he faces his mistakes and his own shortcomings (pride, willful ignorance, cowardice) head on, and tries so desperately to make up for them, even as he keeps making them.

I love that he's not some perfect angel, that he hangs on to the amber and intends on handing it over to Ada at first, in exchange for getting out of Valdelobos, despite knowing full well that no good will come of that. The part in Separate Ways where he tells her he doesn't care who she works for, could be the devil himself, so long as she gets him out of there was so shocking for me to hear at first, but then I realized that's the core of his tragedy - that he's a good man trapped in a horrible situation, and he's scared, he wants out, he wants to live so badly! Unlike Leon, he's got a healthy dose of self-preservation, and honestly, if I were in his shoes I would probably make the same choices.

But still - he runs into the burning lab, he risks his life to get the suppressant to Leon, he tells Ada he won't leave her, he picks up his 'lance' and says alright, let's go rescue the princess! He's so full of regret and fear and he keeps making shitty choices, but he also keeps doing the right thing.

The way he's written and acted is so rich and nuanced. Watching him, I understand exactly where he's coming from and every single one of his choices. Out of all the characters in re4r he feels the most real to me, the most human. Every second he's on screen is a joy, even the horrible painful seconds at the end.

I wanted him to live so badly, and not just because I like him, but because he wanted to live so badly... All the re6 AU's I've seen floating around where he meets up with Leon again are among my favourite things to come out of this fandom!! I know Capcom is never gonna do that, but in my head it's canon: when Ada told the helicopter pilot to change course she actually went back for Luis, gave him a little first aid spray, and then they joined forces and lalalala everything is fine!!

Ok I'm gonna wrap it up cause if I keep talking about him I'm gonna be late for work, but thank you so much for the chance to gush!! I love Luis so much and I think about him all the time.... My sweet bisexual disaster man..... Going to his death with a smile:

Aasdghhhgddfghjkljjgdaaddghgfdffhh......

[the-furthest-city-light]

This post is relates to the current chapters in my Fem!Luffy AU, so read if you want but feel free to scroll.

Sanji has this thing about masculinity and machismo born from a combination of a childhood spent being ridiculed for having emotions and being a Normal Human, and then being raised on the Baratie, which is full of guys who are kind but similarly gruff. He doesn't express vulnerability easily, and he's used to showing he cares in indirect ways that avoids the mortifying ordeal of being known so to speak, especially in relation to other men, and especially men his own age.

I think Sanji by nature of his weird chauvinism would view Luffy as a figure of respect much more quickly than he does Lucy. While he likes her and is probably kinder to her than he was Luffy to start, it’s probably not until around the end of Arlong Park in my fic where Sanji really gets it in his head that Lucy’s in charge and worthy of following, as opposed to the fight on the Baratie in canon. He's just never in his life experienced and trusted himself to a capable female authority figure before, and Luffy, being a guy, would be a much easier and more natural model of leadership for Sanji, regardless of Luffy/Lucy's similarities in personality.

By the time Whole Cake Island comes around, Sanji is on board with Lucy's leadership 100%. He's exactly as loyal to her as he is to Luffy. But since Sanji's conflict in Whole Cake Island centers around his emotional turmoil and his own long-buried trauma and fear, I think Lucy would have a distinct advantage in dealing with it from Luffy. By virtue of Luffy being a guy, Sanji puts on a pretty strong front throughout their various interactions in the arc. He’s not someone who likes to be vulnerable in general, but around other guys (especially Zoro) it’s really obvious that he’s someone who fronts with machismo and aims for stoicism he doesn’t actually feel.

I’m convinced that when confronted with the same emotional turmoil before Lucy, he would actually express that emotion more honestly and openly.  She's his captain and his friend yes, so he still feels that sense of loyalty and need for honesty, but she's also a girl. The need to front masculinity isn't there. For Sanji, women have always been sources of emotional comfort and a safe place to express himself, and I don’t think that would change just because she’s a kind of authority figure, especially when they have so much history proving Lucy's trustworthiness.

I do think Lucy's position as a female authority figure/friend in Sanji's life would do interesting things to his psyche following Whole Cake Island. I think he'd probably view her more fraternally than he was previously, or than he does with Nami and Robin, who are decidedly Women to Sanji, though of course the three of them are friends. I don't think his behavior would necessarily change much, but the way he thinks about her, possibly.

I initially started writing this AU because I was interested in how Luffy/Lucy's gender would affect their personal development, and to reflect more severely/honestly some of the dangers depicted in the one piece world. Sanji and Usopp have always been the characters I have the hardest time dealing with in this fic for different reasons, but with Sanji specifically it's because he's so weird about women that it's hard to imagine him respecting one enough to follow her the way he does Luffy. It's been fun to write scenes depicting why Lucy's gender is an advantage to her leadership rather than a hindrance, especially when it features Sanji.

New chapter to be posted in a bit :)

[sayakxmi]

I've certainly seen at least a few people headcanon that the dreambubbles have affected the dancestors behavior in some way, but I haven't seen any attempts at actually explaining how it could have possibly worked, so I've figured out I'd share my own theory.

Quick but necessary disclaimer first, though: none of this is canon. I'd say I'm being quite charitable here even calling it a theory, when in reality it's more like an AU. So by no means assume it's a hard rule or a definite explanation of what's going on. Personally, I see it as a bit of a cheat code that leaves me a lot of free room to write the dancestors closer to how I would've wanted them to be written, hence I'm sharing in case somebody wants to do a similar thing without truly contradicting the information we have in the source material. 

To start with, we can kind of scratch the idea that the dreambubbles prevent you from changing right off the bat, as we see at least three different characters go through some character development in spite of being dead and stuck there (Meenah, Aranea, Vriska). You could probably make it work if you really, really wanted that, but it doesn't seem all that plausible. 

So, if the issue isn't that you cannot change, perhaps the issue is that you change too much.

Let's start from the beginning - how do the dreambubbles work? Well, they allow for the ghosts to continue existing, as well as for the dreamers to wake up in there and interact with them or each other. How does the awakening happen, whether for the dead or the sleeping?

Through a memory.

Examples I can think of are:

1 - dead - doomed!Dave, playing a game, still in his triangular shades, until Aradia starts trolling him and eventually he realizes this is not actually real, so both his surroundings as well as appearance change to match what he remembers, until he reaches the realization that he is, in fact, dead, and blood appears on his body, too.

2 - sleeping - Terezi goes through a memory of her conversation with Vriska after she'd blinded her, and it takes her a moment to realize something is wrong, as well as that the person she was talking with wasn't even Vriska, but Aranea instead; it's more or less then, that her surroundings change.

In other words, one of the main pillars of the dreambubbles are memories.

But the thing is, memories are quite subjective and heavily influenced by the way we perceive things. So, if we assume that the perception of an event can affect the surroundings as well as your appearance and state (eg. dead!Eridan who still has his eyes, as he apparently hasn't realized he's dead), wouldn't it be possible for the perception of a person to affect their behavior?

The way I imagine it working is essentially a positive feedback loop. Regardless of whether it was true or not, from your perspective the person you interact with was a self-absorbed asshole who looked down on everybody, and tried to sound smart and objective when in reality they were just insulting everybody and to make themselves look better in comparison. 

It's possible you weren't the only person who thought that way or thought something similar (and there were already thousands of yous) and in the same manner the surroundings were adjusting to your thoughts, the person in front of you was also changing slightly to fit better the subconscious description you've had for them in your mind.

What if the person was a bit of a shameless flirt? Maybe they weren't all that serious about it, but you've always got the impression that all they've ever wanted to do is get into other people's pants. Or they were really passionate about horses, to the point where you've seriously thought it was all they cared about, hell, maybe they should've just been hatched as a fucking horse! Or they really loved to talk about shipping, as if nothing else was more important. Or in reverse, you've always seen that person as level-headed and respectable, in spite of them being actually pretty head-strong and at times just genuinely shitty. Or you've seen somebody as cool and assertive, when in reality they were extremely insecure and conflict-averse.

The more you see these people that way, the more their personalities shift to fit these descriptions, and the more they shift, the more confirmation you get about them being like you've always thought them to be, which ends up making these perceptions even stronger, and makes them behave even stronger in that specific way, which once again validates your perception of them, and… And it just keeps happening. 

Personally, I don't consider this to be a completely unavoidable process, especially when you're aware of this happening. But the real question is, is there actually a point? The dancestors have spent an eternity in the dreambubbles, surrounded by thousands of other versions of themselves, affected by all these various versions of each other. It's got to get tiring at some point to just remain so vigilant in differentiating your own thought patterns from what is something you wouldn't have actually thought in your right might. It's just… too much effort. Who even cares what becomes of you? Your world is gone, everybody around you is dead and just as tired of it all. Why bother?

Or in case you still want to retain the clarity of your mind, but without all that conscious effort, the only other option is to get as far from people as possible. The less ghosts around you, the less perceptions to affect you. That could explain how Meenah is… pretty normal, after staying away from everybody in the memory of her hive for however long she was there.

To sum it up, the dreambubbles are essentially the place where believing in something makes it less and less fake until it becomes real.

[weekend-whip]

Ninjago Fic Rec Week: Day 7

Prompts: Gen / Team Fics! (IIIIITS THE GRAND FINALEEEEEE)

lloyd garmadon makes kai smith cry on his birthday- Has been recc'ed a couple times but *I* just read it and now *I* have to rec it too! The brotherly dynamic between the two already has me by the throat, but then both of their perspectives on birthdays just really helps drive the point home!! So pleased to have this fic shown to me!

Aftermaths: Lloyd and Kai post-MotO and oof they both go through it emotionally

Visionary- A fic jam-PACKED with introspective and dynamics with the main six, consisting of Lloyd getting a glimpse of what the other's went through prior to becoming ninja (and other hardships), while the other five use their experiences to help Lloyd move forward with his own troubles. That's...literally the barest I can break this fic down into, but there's soooo many emotions and moments and perspective and AAAAAA

An Endless Light: Made ME weep, man. WEEP I SAY. An immortal Lloyd just loves his family, man. AND GODDD THE ENDINGGGGG

the L-word: FIVE TIMES THE NINJA TELL LLOYD THEY LOVE HIM (and the one time he says it back) THE FOUND FAMILY VIBES ARE STRONG WITH THIS ONE!!! PLATONIC USAGES OF I LOVE YOU *throws flowers petals* LET THE PEOPLE LOVE OUT LOUD!!

The Sun Rises Every Single Night: TIME TRAVEL FIC of Lloyd contending with holy crap how much things have CHANGED but also, despite everything, he is still himself. Kind of a character study, but all entertaining and wholesome ;w;

Time Marches On: A fic that is lamentably not finished, but the chapter that IS there is a wonderful reflection by Wu on how his students have changed (I like time-reflective fics, I suppose) punctuated with a heart-wrenching conversation with Lloyd, which is something I will always love to see~ (but pls if for nothing else the Wu+Lloyd convo is so GOOD *rolls around*)

Thank You, For Giving Me Wings: Or, Five Times the Ninja accidentally called Wu 'Dad' (and the one time one of them didn't on purpose). Oh look, another time-reflective piece about Wu and the Ninja, but this time by me! And could be finished if the Nya chapter didn't give me such a writer's block on how to phrase what I want to saaaay *wails* Anywaaaay, lot of Wu and lots of family emotions and lots of the ninja being vulnerable and soft in their "father's" presence ;w;)/

Some Burn Hot, Some Burn Cold: A story about Lloyd, Elemental Powers, and the effects both those things can have on the ninja's emotions. Everyone's got a role to play in this one, though the parts with Cole and Lloyd hit me the hardest, man. Also may or may not have been my inspiration for Elemental Outbursts ;P

All I Want For Christmas is You: If I had a nickel for every time I recc'ed a Christmas fic in the middle of July, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it's (about to) happen twice (aka Lloyd experiences Christmas for the first time and attempts to hide that fact and the ninja simply love him very very very much in the process).

All I'm Asking For- And last but most certainly not least, my other very favorite Ninjago fic ever, the masterpiece that inspired me to get back into writing to begin with ;w;

Kind of a (Christmas-y) AU the diverts from MotO but doesn't necessarily contradict it either, my mere meager description just cannot do it the justice it deserves! Everyone gets some form of closure after all these years of fighting to just be okay, even if for a little while, all sprinkled with marvelous character moments and interactions and holiday shenanigans that are guaranteed to warm your heart at one point or another. A great pick me up to dive back into year round regardless (as I do)

(this fic is technically and obviously about everyone, but the way it starts and ends with Cole's perspective on his team............ *bursts into tears* something about it just feels so perfectly right in a way I still can't manage to explain. But know I hold this fic so very near and dear to my heart and you should too <3)

And that is it! Woot, didn't think I'd make it every day, but turns out I read a lot more than I think! Shoutout to @21st-century-ninja for putting this all together!!

[mustangs-flames]

About to go insane about this anyways I absolutely adore Ruth and Thatcher's dynamics in this, especially in the way of gender roles and how they both kinda break out of them, especially with thatcher being the emotional one and ruth being the logical one. Ruth somewhat reminds me of my friend in the way that everything in our education system has to be fought for by girls mostly because the system here is very patriarchal and traditional, though that is changing luckily! Thatcher seems to have some sort of innate instinct when it comes to alternates, especially after living around one for so long. He distrusts O'Brien, he immediately feels off about a child from a photo, I think that's honestly very cool!! I also really enjoy Mark's whole relationship with his scars and how the fact that they're there reminds him of what happened, maybe I'm projecting but it seems to feel nice that theres some sort of evidence of his suffering, that he hasn't suffered substantially enough to be taken seriously. That his scars leave no choice but to be taken seriously, if that makes sense. I also love how understandable Ruth's frustrations are, I felt like I was able to connect to her as a character a ton, especially as a trans guy. The feeling of always being cast aside, and the resentment that comes with that. It doesn't make her seem bitchy, honestly it makes her so much more understandable and better as a character, and I adore her for that. She's definitely one of my favourite characters now. Also learning about O'Brien enjoying cats is very fun. Like he's actually just a silly on the inside. He's just like me fr (I stopped breathing when my friend's cat curled up next to me and started purring.) Very excited to see Adam and Jonah's relationship and just Adam in general! /pos /gen Also I think you asked this before but my favourite part was probably Ruth in this chapter along with Old Rugged Cross and Mark's backstory, and his friendship with Cesar. Co dependent friendships my beloved. -Emotionally deranged anon :3 (Also sorry for not asking anything I just wanted to analyse this chapter cuz I don't have anyone else to analyse it to!! I am so normal about this book /pos /gen)

Honestly, I really love getting analyses like this! It's just really cool to have someone engage with the AU in this way /gen

I'm really, really glad you enjoyed Ruth and Thatcher's dynamic in the recent chapter! I love that the 2 of them are so different from each other and yet are very close regardless. Thatcher being very emotionally invested whilst Ruth is more logical and direct in her approach to things was a lot of fun to write - I really wanted to reinforce that Ruth is still in that mentor position despite Thatcher's recent promotion to Lieutenant to add to that friction between them with Ruth being resentful of him. I'm glad she didn't come across as 'bitchy' or anything - that's always a concern considering how fandom tends to treat or perceive women characters, especially flawed ones. So yeah, it's really cool that she's become one of your favourite characters in the AU! She's definitely one of my faves, too! :D

Yeah, O'Brien loves his cats a lot. Earth isn't so bad sometimes - he has nothing against animals, only humans and even then some humans get a pass lol. It's a little complicated like that khsdbdf

Jonah and Adam together won't be appearing for a little while yet - we've got a whole bunch of stuff to get through with Mark and alt!Cesar first - but I'm looking forward to it too! They have an interesting dynamic and it will be fun to show Adam's slow decline into behaving more like an alternate as time passes and how their bond deteriorates and yet doesn't fall apart completely.

Thank you so much for the kind words! And the analysis! It's always really fun to read and answer! :D

[quinloki]

👋🏼 hello, Silk here~

Not meaning to infodump here, but my friend helped me make up ALOT of new lore for my OC River last night, and the most hilarious part was when we were done he looked at me like:

“You know, I hope Oda doesn’t come out with anything that contradicts everything we just came up with bc we’ll be screwed xD”

And I just look up from where I’ve been furiously writing it down like “Oh. OH you’re right >.<“

Does that ever happen to you, when you’re writing for fandoms that are unfinished?

Anyway, hope you feel better soon 🙌🏼

I actually never made an OC before Quill - At least not one for a show. I've had plenty of D&D PCs, but that's not - to me - the same thing. I usually don't build anything for those characters so much as letting the campaign they're in shape them.

But! Keep heart about AUs and such possibilities, if you really like something you've come up with, there's no reason to abandon it if the canon world changes in such a way that it doesn't fit anymore. You can try to think up ways to help make it fit, or just keep it in regardless.

Sometimes it's the exception that proves the rule - like how I made a devil fruit that's smooth and tastes sweet xD I have no reason for doing so, I just wanted to. Fic and Art and OCs are fun like that.

And thank you, I'm looking to turn in early tonight and sleep in late and that should help put Saturday back on track for me.

[raayllum]

Sorry this is so random: but imagine a more darkish rayllum. Rayla who runs away from her people cause they make her feel like outcast because of her parents. Becomes an assassin for hire on her own. And has killed. Doesn't really mind dark magic. Outcast Callum who ran away after his step father and brother was killed. Stole some of Viren and Claudia's dark magic stuff, including a glowing egg. Just traumatized dark magic Callum on the run who meets up with for hire assassin elf Rayla.

Not quite my thing, as one of the things I like most about Callum and Rayla is the contrast in their morality, i.e. Rayla being pretty rigid with anything except lying vs Callum far more morally loose and willing to bend things (and his contrast with Ez and Rayla in general, but I've talked about that in a few different places: X, X, X).

Rayla is so driven by her big bleeding heart, and I do think if she chose to leave the Silvergrove behind pre-banishment, it'd be because she's also realized she doesn't want to be an assassin / doesn't want anything to do with them. I'm not sure what she'd do instead (probably something similar to Stella of helping someone in need, and then just never entirely leaving / getting found family adopted) but I don't think she'd continue being an assassin. She's so morally driven I think it'd take something extreme for her to be okay with repeated dark magic use, although I would like to explore an AU one day where Callum doesn't wake up with the Sky arcanum in 2x09 and how they progress beyond that point, but that's with Rayla already being in love with him > meeting him at that stage, which makes a difference

Dark mage Callum for me has more potential, since we know he was neutral/positive leaning on it at the start of the series, thanks to his proximity with Claudia and Viren, even if I think if he did take that route it'd be with the constant "this is what's necessary" breathing down his neck of his own internalized justification (to protect his brother, mostly; I don't know if much else could convince him to take up dark magic long term. He likes power but sustainable power, y'know?)

That said a Rayllum I think has a potential to be 'darker' / more morally grey together was recently laid out in a canon divergence post of mine, since I always think it's interesting to consider just how far - or not far, regardless - characters are willing to go depending on how their circumstances change. There just has to be a Reason for that change, y'know?

[bumblewarden]

Looking through the soundsets for some alienage pals, and i have spoils to share!

First up is Shianni. I'll be honest, i thought this was her Bad Idea comment at first because she can be so sarcastic, but it is fun to imagine her saying this approvingly. Most of these i've never heard in the game, and i don't know where i could find the actual audio files

I just love her sass

And here's a cute little parallel between Shianni and Soris's battle cries. I'm picturing the childhood wrestling matches already. Shiannii's probably around 2-4 years younger than him but kicking his ass more often than not

Soris also has a pair of delightful figures of speech for his Good Idea and Bad Idea comments

The existence of a Spell Failed comment for Soris had me 👀 for the half minute before i remembered that every companion has one. I assume it's in case any talent regardless of class gets interrupted, but i did start to think about that AU potential for a hot second. Might have to write a fic about it someday. Apostate Soris AU is just ripe for the presses

This one i just really want to know what his line of thinking was. While he's in the party, his only other party member is the Warden. If the Warden goes down, there's no "we" to help them unless you are in that conditional and very narrow window before f!Tabris finds Nelaros. Even while active, that would still mean running across the map to find him. Maybe it was originally planned to have someone else also join you during the break in or for Nelaros to live? Idk. Could just be a regular oversight since it's such a generic line

Moving on to Cyrion with something that is so simple yet would fill my Tabris with so much shame

Also we've got Valendrian coming in with the fire in his belly! He's so much more vicious than i expected! "Such a pathetic creature you are." Hello??? Does he actually know how to fight? Am i going to have to actually play Darkspawn Chronicles for a chance to maybe hear some of this now? What other possible combat scenario could this be intended for except that the toolset doesn't include anything DLC except Shale? I might go insane about this

(Yes, there's also a note that he'll never be in combat or controlled by the player, but at least his threaten and 5th battle cry don't look to be generic. Idk i have thoughts and questions about this, but Alistair's character sheet says he's 32, so it's not like it'd be the first or biggest retcon from the toolset)

We've also got quite a bit of elven coming from Valendrian! I don't think "Mur ta tanalla" even has a known canon translation but whatever it means clearly works as a battle cry

And to close out, some pickpocket reactions in the order of Shianni, Soris, Cyrion, Valendrian. Why did you attempt to steal from your father? Now, he's confused and disappointed

Soris's is definitely written with the CE Warden in mind, but i'd wager Shianni's is written with a non-CE Warden in mind. It's not that i don't think she'd say it, but (considering the VO note is "threatening") i do think that she'd instead take to it more as a poor joke if it were cousin instead of a near-stranger, especially if this cousin didn't accept Vaughan's bribe

Valendrian's line here also doesn't seem like he's speaking to a Warden Tabris considering he's described as a surrogate uncle to the alienage. But also him threatening anyone seems out of character. What happened to "the world has far more use of those who know how to stay their blades"? I'd expect exasperation, admonishment, maybe a little shaming. Can you imagine him saying this to a Cousland armed to the teeth? Combined with what i've already shown from him, it really makes you wonder how much his character changed over the course of development

And, uh, Nelaros. Either this line is miscategorized, or he doesn't quite get the concept of a war cry